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LED Lights Common Terms Explained

Posted by Jessica Williams
on
September 15, 2014

CRI (Color Rendering Index):

This is a measurement that tells
you the capability a light hasto
reveal the true colors of various objects in comparison with an optimal or natural
light source. Luminaires with a high CRI (90 or above) are desirable in
color-critical applications such as lighting Art.

Color Temperature:

This is used when describing the
level of warmth or coolness of a light source. This is measured in degrees of
Kelvin (K). Lower temperatures are warmer and grow cooler (or whiter) as the
temperature rises. Imagine hot metal in a forge that first glows red, then
orange, and then white as the temperature increases. Warm White temperatures
typically range between 2400K-3000K while Cool White temperatures range between
4000K-6000K.

DMX:

Simply put, DMX is a system that
controls lighting and dimmers. In earlier years this was mainly used for
entertainment lighting, but in recent years has become a significant part of
Architectural lighting as more and more LED lighting is being manufactured with
DMX signals. A DMX controller would be required for any application that is
using color changing LED’s.

Efficacy:

The amount of light from a light
source divided by the total electrical power input to that source, this is
expressed in lumens per watt (lm/W).

Heat Sink:

In LED’s this is the part of the
thermal system that conducts or convects heat away from sensitive components to
keep them from overheating.

IP Ratings:

The
amount of protection an LED has from its environment is defined by its IP
rating, or Ingress Protection rating. An IP rating is made up of two numbers,
the first identifies the LED’s degree of protection against solid objects and
the second identifies the LEDs degree of protection against liquid.

LED Driver:

This is an electronic circuit
that converts input power into a current source which remains constant despite
fluctuations in voltage. An LED driver protects LEDs from normal voltage
fluctuations. Some LED products require electronic drivers to operate.

Line Voltage:

The voltage supplied by a power line: 120 volts of
alternating current.

Low Voltage:

The voltage after a transformer is added to a
circuit: 12 volts of direct current.

Lumen:

A lumen (lm) is a measurement of
the total amount of visible light emitted by a light source

Luminaire:

A complete electric lighting fixture; bulbs and
sockets included

RGB Color Model:

A common color model in which the
three colors who's initials form the name (red, green, and blue) ate mixed
together if various proportions to produce a large range of colors, even white.

RGB White:

White light produced by combining red, green, and blue light

Solid-state lighting:

A term used to refer to lighting
that emits solid-state electroluminescence, such as LEDs, instead of thermal
radiation or fluorescence. In addition to having superior energy
efficiency, solid state lights do not contain moving parts or parts that can
break, rupture, shatter, leak or contaminate the environment.

Tunable White Light:

A LED white-light fixture with
variable color temperature. By controlling and combining multiple color
channels the fixture can deliver a beam of light ranging from 2700k to 6000k.

Transformer:

The device that “transforms” line
voltage (120 volts) to low voltage (12 volts) using a 10:1 ratio of turns of
the electrical wire wrapped around two opposing sides of an iron-containing
structure called the core.

Volt:

The SI unit for voltage, or
electrical potential energy. A volt is defined as the difference of
potential that would drive one ampere of current against one ohm resistance.
Using the analogy of water flowing through a pipe, voltage is the water
pressure.